The Chariot

A charioteer in amber armour sits motionless within a canopy of stars, holding the Holy Grail, a disk of radiant blood. Four sphinxes, each combining the kerubic beasts, draw the chariot; a crab, the sign of Cancer, is his crest; ten stars stud the canopy.

Cheth, the fence or enclosure, on path 18 from Binah to Geburah: the wall that protects the Grail as it is carried from Understanding into Severity. The charioteer is the enclosure of the sacred charge; the card hides its light within armour.

Cancer, cardinal Water, ruled by the Moon with Jupiter exalted: the shell, the home, the first flood of summer. The decans of Cancer are the Two, Three and Four of Cups.

Seven, the Naples number of bliss and of Netzach, and Cheth's value 8. Seven is also the number of the planets and the days: the chariot carries the whole cosmos under its canopy.

The Hero at the height of ego-strength: opposites yoked rather than reconciled, victory by containment. The shadow is inflation; the amber armour is a persona as much as a protection.

Waite's charioteer stands under a starry canopy with two sphinxes; Crowley seats him, doubles the sphinxes to four and puts the Grail in his hands, shifting the card from conquest to the carrying of a sacred charge.